AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT
In the midst of all the awful news, here’s something to take the edge off.
Hawker Tempest II ready for first flight
This is the only flyable Hawker Tempest II in the world. The Tempest was the biggest, most powerful, fastest British fighter of World War II and the last World War II RAF fighter to see combat, flying in the Malayan Emergency 1948-51, when it was finally removed from operations.
This Tempest was found in Poona, India in 1979 and returned to Britain. It has been the subject of various restoration projects ever since, until it was finally taken on charge ten years ago. The restoration of the airframe was completed in 2019 and then things stopped for the pandemic.
In the past year, the 2,300 hp Bristol Centaurus VI sleeve-valve radial engine has been finally completed and engine tests have been going on since last May.
Today, October 11, 2023, the airplane finally returned to the air.
It’s restored in the markings of a Tempest II of 33 Squadron RAF, the final unit to operate the airplane in combat.
Enjoy the video of the first flight!
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Thanks for the breath of fresh air from WW2. A clue to how crazy things are today.
Good to see it flying, but keeping my fingers crossed that something doesn’t go wrong and the planes crashes. Rebuilding/fabricating those vintage aircraft isn’t as difficult as finding usable engines. The Sea Fury uses the same Bristol engine as the Tempest II, but finding a good power plant isn’t easy. If I remember correctly, one Sea Fury had the Centaurus engine swapped out for an R-3350 unit because there weren’t enough Centaurus engines and parts available anymore.